Lock assembly

ABSTRACT

A door lock assembly is provided which has particular utility in hotels and motels, and in other places where a change of occupancy frequently occurs. The assembly includes removable logic inserts which change the lock tumbler settings for each change of occupancy. In the embodiment to be described, multiple logic inserts are provided which permit the lock to be operated by different independent keys, each logic insert being independent of the others, and each being independently changeable. For example, three logic inserts may be used for the lock in a motel, to render the lock accessible to three different keys, namely, a guest key, a maid&#39;&#39;s key, and a master key. A mechanism is included in the lock, in the embodiment to be described, which may be actuated by the occupant within the room to prevent operation of the lock from the outside by one or more groups of the independent keys, for example, by any key but the master key when privacy is desired.

United States Patent [1 1 [111 Raymond July 8, 1975 1 LOCK ASSEMBLY [76]Inventor: James W. Raymond, 300 Avenida [57] ABSTRACT Cumbre, NewportBeach, Calif. A door lock assembly is provided which has particular92660 utility in hotels and motels and in other places where a change ofoccupancy frequently occurs. The assem- [22] bly includes removablelogic inserts which change the [21] Appl. No.: 438,867 lock tumblersettings for each change of occupancy.

in the embodiment to be described, multiple logic int serts are providedwhich permit the lock to be operated by different independent keys, eachlogic insert being independent of the others, and each being inde- [581Fleld of Search 70/276, 363, 382, 383,

70/384 385 405 D16 60 339 pendently changeable. For example, three logicinserts may be used for the lock in a motel, to render the lock (56]Rehrenm Cited accessible to three different keys, namely, a guest key,

a maid 5 key, and a master key. A mechanism lS m- UNITED STATES PATENTScluded in the lock, in the embodiment to be described. l,004,904 l0/l9llRees 70/339 which may be actuated by the occupant within the 2.970.4662/1961 wfllckemw 70/339 room to prevent operation of the lock from theout- 3'l5476l 0/1964 Comma 70/276 x side by one or more groups of theindependent keys, 3,555,858 l/l97l Owen 70/384 for example by any key bh ter key when pri- Primary Examiner-Robert L. Wolfe Attorney, Agent. orFirm-Jessup 8t Beecher MA/O KEY M4576? 6) vacy is desired.

8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures MA/D -/0 war-00f ag 1 LOCK ASSEMBLYBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Although. for purposes of clarity. thespecification herein will be directed to the utilization of the lock ofthe invention in hotels and motels. it will become evident as thedescription proceeds that the lock has general utility. for example. ininstitutions. industrial plants. government facilities. and so on. wherechanges in the locks are required with some frequency. and where masterkeying is employed.

Tremendous problems have arisen during recent years involving theftprevention in hotel and motel rooms due to the unauthorized use of thekeys issued to guests and maids. Such keys are often lost. stolen. orotherwise find their way into the hands of thieves. The problem isaggravated because the prior art hotel keys normally carry identifyingtags giving the thief exact information as to the name of the hotel. itsaddress. and the room number to which access may be gained by use of theparticular key.

Although the guest keys used in conjunction with the lock of the presentinvention may also carry the name and address of the hotel and the roomnumber, the information is valueless because the key will no longer fitthe lock of the specified room. because the lock mechanism is changedfor each occupancy. The key itself may be disposable. and. because ,ofthat. and as an added feature. it can be imprinted with the guest's nameor initials for proper identification when the guest requests his key atthe desk during his stay at the motel.

When the lock of the invention is used in hotels or motels. it has anadded advantage in that the maid can remove the previous guest's logicinsert from the room after it has been made up following a check-out.She can then insert a special insert which will fit the bellman's key ashe escorts a new guest to the room. This assures that the room willbecome available to the new guest. only after it has been made up and isready for occupancy. The bellman can then replace the special logicinsert with the logic insert issued to the new guest.

It is preferable that the independent inserts in each lock. whichcondition the lock to receive the maids key and the master key. are notreadily removable. This is in order that the lock may be renderedtamper-proof. In this way. the lock is accessible only to the masterkey. and those aspects of the lock are not under the control of theguest. or of the maid.

The basic purpose of the lock of the present invention. therefore. is toprovide an assembly which is set to match a new key for each newoccupancy of the room. Specifically. as described above. each lock isset by inserting a guest logic insert into the lock on the inside of thedoor. The guest logic insert then establishes a certain pattern in afirst group of tumblers within the lock. and this pattern is matched bya second group of tumblers only when an appropriate key is inserted inthe lock which has the capability of causing the second group oftumblers to assume a pattern which complements the pattern of the firstgroup. With such a mechanism. each lock becomes operative only when ithas received the appropriate logic insert. and at that time. the lock isconditioned only to operate in conjunction with a key corresponding tothat particular insert. The

lock of the invention is flexible. since it may provide that anyparticular key-logic insert combination may be used in conjunction withany door in the establishment.

Since the tumbler characteristics of the lock of the invention may bechanged at will. merely by issuing a new key-insert combination. theproblem of lost keys is solved. and each guest has the security ofknowing that there are no old keys to the lock of his room which may bein the hands of unauthorized persons. Another advantage of the lockassembly of the invention is that the lock is capable of operation bymeans of relatively inexpensive and disposable logic inserts. and byinexpensive und disposable keys.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a schematic representationshowing in perspective the lock assembly in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a representation of an appropriate card-like key which may beissued to a guest to operate the lock of FIG. I. when an appropriatemating guest logic member is inserted into the lock from the inside ofthe room to set the lock tumblers to a particular configuration;

FIG. 3 is a top section showing a lock assembly constructed toincorporate the concepts of the embodiment of FIG. I; and

FIG. 4 is a side section of the assembly of FIG. 3. taken essentiallyalong the line 44 of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT The lock assembly ofFIG. I includes a usual door actuating mechanism which. in turn.includes an inside knob 10. an outside knob 12. and a shaft 14intercoupling the two knobs. In accordance with usual prior artpractice. the inside knob I0 is coupled to a latch 16. so that the latchmay be operated'whenever the knob I0 is turned in either direction. Theoutside knob 12 is coupled to the latch I6 through a cam I8. and iscapable of operating the latch only when the cam l8 can turn. In theassembly of FIG. I, the cam I8 is enegaged by a bolt 20. so that it canturn only when the bolt is freely slidable along a particular path.

A first tumbler means 22 is disposed in the path of the bolt 20, and itcomprises a stack of individual leaf members. Each leaf in the stack isshaped to define a tongue 22a on the side of the stack remote from thebolt 20. as shown. A plurality of springs 24 bias the individual leafmembers of the tumbler means 22 into a transversely aligned position. asshown in FIG. 1. However. when a guest logic member 26 is insertedthrough an opening in the lock on the inside of the door. a pattern ofteeth on the forward edge of the logic member shifts selected ones ofthe transverse leaf members of the tumbler means 22 to various displacedpositions.

As the bolt 20 moves to the right in FIG. I. it carries with it thetumbler means 22. A second tumbler means 28 is disposed in the path ofthe tumbler means 22. Each leaf member of the tumbler means 28 defines agroove section 280 on the side of the tumbler means 28 facing thetumbler means 22, and this groove receives the tongue section 220 of thetumbler means 22. only when the displaced leaf members of the tumblermeans 28 complement the displaced leaf members of the tumbler means 22.The leaf members of the tumbler means 28 are biased to a normallytransverse aligned position by a plurality of springs 30. However. theseleaf members may be displaced transversely when a key 32 is in- Thepurpose of the'additional tumbler means 40 is to Ipermitj'aeces'sto theroomby a master key or by a maid's key. eachof whichis independent ofthe particlar key: issued to the guest. ;The leaf members of the.tu'rnbler meansso may be set. for example. to a particullar displaced.jconfiguration. by means of a maid logic memberjss which. tog ether'wth a master logic memr49is'ntountedon a lever 51 within the lock assem-The" lever 5l is pivoted at a pivot point and s o'v e'd by an actuatingbar 53 which is attached to one ,end offthe lever 51 and which protrudesthrough the ont side oft lock to be term nated y a ope ating,

. .13; serted into a keyhole formed door.

The key 32tn'aya 8 u y member witha pat'tern ofteeth formed 'on forwardedge. It will be appreciated that when the pattern ot teeth on the key32 is'related to thepattern of teethjon' the logic m'emberj26;such'fthat the'fdisplacement'fof leaves in the tumbler. means 28eompIementsJthe displacement of leaves in the tumbler,meansZA'thetumbler means 22 will be free tolmove to th'etight in'FlG l, as it isactuated by the bolt 20," with"the' irregularlyshaped tongue portion22abeing received ,ittthe co mplementing irregularly-shaped eovepemon zsa.M who i ,d. y L

The m 32 may! forjgxampk; t gum keywhtch, en t s estred to operate thelock by t e mud s as shown in FIG; 2, is in the fort" ofa card havingteeth 1'? X $h l P'- "1 i on its forward edge which must complement theteeth E gs-m g" g 'fi fl i l i fltz t0 t i E 1 h i .f l d g cm or no cat: Amto tzcon I- h achieved between 'the transverse settings of theleaves is a to 'l 'f W of the tumbler means 22 and of the tumbler means28, t e mast" Y- thc kiwi? F r- Whit? F movementof the tumbler means22"int'o the tumbler fl' abnu the PM)1 3 x m T 3 maid means 28 ispermitted. so that the do? may be opened, 28 16 fromthCglfiailglfirnl'geatls 4t) and to insert -ne mas The tumbler means 22and 28 are normally biased t v Ogle mcm lock proprtate sprmtts. sue assprings an f '3 As explained above, when a guest checks into the gz g fl' fg g g: 1: I 1 f motel or hotel he is issuedaguest logic member 26and g F- v Zr- P L. 0 f i a mating guest key 32. Then he, or thebellman, inserts hp z gzgz i fi' i 1 3'1 i 'ggf the guest log c member 2into an inside opening in the d g f z' fi ac ,L lock ofthe roomallocated to the guest, thereby condi-Q the maidis l'lo'lftfl'cercapable of inserting the ma d. honing thelock to be operated by theinsertion of the t a or K so that the guest subseque-nny tolottic'rhemlter 49. The pushbutton i s eoud to t e 5 room- R" Y in on vI w In the embodiment of FF, 1, a third tumbler means is provided in thepathot'the tumbler means 28-The -i k g" tumbler means 40 also is formedof a stack of leafmem-J e a e; Show in FIG 2 imqnias mom which biased.into a mmversefligmd position number to which the key is currentlyissued which may. y PPt'opnate springs. such as the springs 42."Each of40 y attached "HM key by an adhesive the leaf members of the tumblermeans 40 is formed to nick" key may he disposable a mentioned define atongue section 40A. This tongue section is re- I above in which event.eh m: 5, chant-.5 on m P S W m t on 28b of the tumble f the hotel. thekey and the associated guest logic means only the 9 of "amwemdy'n'tcmbet' 26 is discarded. When a new guest checks into displacedleaves of the tumbler means 40 complements Mm 1 issued a key such as theguest My 37, the position of the displaced leaf members ofthe tumand t,mam number is ffi d to p by 4 mcansizmunk a match ive stick'cr'A. Thebellman is also issued a me -thin; tumbler means 40 prevents movement ofthe tumbler Y Y [ttilbst logicimembcr 26. Then, as the .gue'at entershis means 23 alng the P Tm mean 4 mom',.the bellman inserts the guestlogic member 26 may be'biased in opposite directions .by 'a v k t'tto th"inside slot in the lock of his room and, thereafp such fiv 1 c ranopcrate his look by his guest. 'cey.

lt will be appreciated.ftherefore.that whena-ntatch Aflh wfln'l-lfi 2,the guest rzgv. hi name on is him/6d between m u" h in 1 the wheri'hechecks out, and the check-out date bier meaflS the i mean 22 i5 9Q.,mPY. A may been te'r hd on thekey. The'forward edge of the along itsP engagcmelll w h? l -i'. j ss f ky v con'tainsappropriate teeth, sothat it can displace 2 so h the rm x s'ov' At h t m .theleat'members ofthe tumbler means 28 to the approtumble? fl l fi 'l i "fpriatetransverse' positions to complement the disprevented by the unmatchedtumbler means 40. the placer! positions of the tumbler means 22 topermit the other hand; when 8 match is BChlQyGd between'thc tum(loot-'10 opened, when the guest, checks on! Of the bler means 28 andthe tumblermeans t l movemcntof h ttj'he'j-nfiy take his guest key 32with him. or throw the bolt 20'causes the unmatchedtumbler means 22 'toit'awa The'rifas' described above. after the room has move thetumblermeans 28 into engagement the been tnade' up for a new guest, h idmay ve tumbler means'40,. so 'tha'tfa'gain the door maylbe thefold guestlogic member 26 from he lock. and. reopened, this being due to acompletely independent inplace i t with"a bellman logic member which wil match tcrrclationshlp between the key operating the tumbler the lockwith the bellmans key. means 28, and a further key operating the tumblerOn check-in, the bellman replaces the bellman logic lllLflrlS 40. memberwith the particular guest logic member 2 i'-- in the lockioutjside otthesued to the guest. It the hotel service does not include bellmemthe newguest logic member may be inserted into each lock by appropriatepersonnel. as the roomscoupled to said mechanical means for locking saidthird logic member into engagement with said third tumbler means.

become available. and matching guest keys may then be identifiedwithrespect to the various rooms. to be issued to the guests as they checkin.

tion is enclosed in an appropriate lock casing 52 which.

in turn, is mounted in an appropriate opening in the hotel room door 54.As shown in FIG. 3.'for example.-

the shaft 14 between the knobs and I2 is coupled to the operatingmechanism of the lock assembly through an appropriate slip clutch 60.This clutch causes the outside knob 12. for example. to rotate wheneverexcessive torque is applied to the knob in an effort to gainunauthorized entrance into the room. Access for the guest logic card 26is gained through an inside slot designated 62. and the maid and masterlogic members are mounted in a appropriate slot 66 for operation by thebar 53. as described above.

The invention provides, therefore. an improved lock assembly which maybe set for each new occupancy of a hotel room. or the like. and whichhas the additional feature in that a maid may obtain access to the roomthrough the use of an independent key which operates independenttumblers within the lock. or by a master key. Also. provisions are madeto permit the occupant to lock out the maid when he is in the room. ifheso desires. However. even though the maid can be locked out of the room.the master key can still be used to gain access to the room. which mayoften be desirable in the case of an emergency.

It will be appreciated that although a particular embodiment of theinvention has been shown and described. modifications may be made. it isintended in the claims to cover the modifications which come within thespirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A lock assembly including: a casing; is first plurality of tumblersmouiited in said casing and individually settable to different positionsestablished by a first logic 4. A lock assembly'including: a casing; abolt member mounted in said casing and slidable along an axis in saidcasing; a first tumbler means mounted in said casing member; a secondplurality of tumblers mounted in said casing and individually settableto different positions established by a key. said tumblers of saidsecond plurality permitting movement of said tumblers of said firstplurality relative thereto only when the positions of the tumblers ofsaid first plurality have a predetermined relationship with respect tothe positions of the tumblers of said second plurality; and a thirdplurality of tumblers mounted in said casing and individually settableto different positions established by at least one further logic member.said tumblers of said third plurality permitting movement of saidtumblers of said second plurality relative thereto only when thepositions of the tumblers of said second plurality have a predeterminedrelationship with the positions of said tumblers of said thirdplurality.

2. The lock assembly defined in claim 1, and which includes mechanicalmeans for selectively moving a second logic member and a third logicmember into engagement with the tumblers of said third plurality.

3. The lock assembly defined in claim 2, and which includes a lockingmeans mounted on said casing and and positioned on said axis adjacentsaid bolt member. said first tumbler means comprising a stack of leafmembers individually slidable transversely to said axis to positionsestablished by a first logic member; second tumbler means mounted insaid casing and positioned on said axis adjacent said first tumblermeans. said second tumbler means comprising a stack of leaf membersindividually slidable transversely to said axis to positions establishedby a key. said second tumbler means permitting movement of said firsttumbler means along said axis relative to said second tumbler means onlywhen the positions of the leaf members of said first tumbler means havea predetermined relationship with respect to the positions of said leafmembers of said second tumbler means; and a third tumbler means mountedin said casing and positioned on an axis adjacent said second tumblermeans, said third tumbler means comprising a stack of leaf meansindividually slidable transversely to said axis in positions establishedby at least one further logic member, said third tumbler meanspermitting movement of said second tumbler means relative to said thirdtumbler means only when the positions of said leaf members of saidsecond tumbler means have a predetermined relationship with respect tothe positions of said leaf members of said third tumbler means.

5. The lock assembly defined in claim 4, and which includes first springmeans resiliently biasing said leaf members of said first tumbler meanstransversely of said axis to a transversely aligned position. and secondspring means resiliently biasing said leaf members of said secondtumbler means transversely of said axis to a transversely alignedposition.

6. The lock assembly defined in claim 5. and which includes third springmeans resiliently biasing said leaf members of said third tumbler meanstransversely of said axis to a transversely aligned position.

7. The lock assembly defined in claim 4. and which includes first springmeans resiliently biasing said first and second tumbler members alongsaid axis away from one another. and second spring means resilientlybiasing said third and second tumbler means along said axis away fromone another.

8. The lock assembly defined in claim 4. in which one of said first andsecond tumbler means is shaped to define a tongue section. and the otherof said first and second tumbler means is shaped to define a groovesection for receiving said tongue section only when the positrons of theleaf members of said first tumbler means match the positions of saidleaf members of said second tumbler means; and one of said second andthird tumbler means defines a tongue section. and the other of saidsecond and third tumbler means defines a groove section for receivingsaid last-named tongue section only when the positions of the leafmembers of said second tumbler means complements the positions of saidleaf members of said third tumbler means.

i i fi

1. A lock assembly including: a casing; a first plurality of tumblersmounted in said casing and individually settable to different positionsestablished by a first logic member; a second plurality of tumblersmounted in said casing and individually settable to different positionsestablished by a key, said tumblers of said second plurality permittingmovement of said tumblers of said first plurality relative thereto onlywhen the positions of the tumblers of said first plurality have apredetermined relationship with respect to the positions of the tumblersof said second plurality; and a third plurality of tumblers mounted insaid casing and individually settable to different positions establishedby at least one further logic member, said tumblers of said thirdplurality permitting movement of said tumblers of said second pluralityrelative thereto only when the positions of the tumblers of said secondplurality have a predetermined relationship with the positions of saidtumblers of said third plurality.
 2. The lock assembly defined in claim1, and which includes mechanical means for selectively moving a secondlogic member and a third logic member into engagement with the tumblersof said third plurality.
 3. The lock assembly defined in claim 2, andwhich includes a locking means mounted on said casing and coupled tosaid mechanical means for locking said third logic member intoengagement with said third tumbler means.
 4. A lock assembly including:a casing; a bolt member mounted in said casing and slidable along anaxis in said casing; a first tumbler means mounted in said casing andpositioned on said axis adjacent said bolt member, said first tumblermeans comprising a stack of leaf members individually slidabletransversely to said axis to positions established by a first logicmember; second tumbler means mounted in said casing and positioned onsaid axis adjacent said first tumbler means, said second tumbler meanscomprising a stack of leaf members individually slidable transversely tosaid axis to positions established by a key, said second tumbler meanspermitting movement of said first tumbler means along said axis relativeto said second tumbler means only when the positions of the leaf membersof said first tumbler means have a predetermined relationship withrespect to the positions of said leaf members of said second tumblermeans; and a third tumbler means mounted in said casing and positionedon an axis adjacent said second tumbler means, said third tumbler meanscomprising a stack of leaf means individually slidable transversely tosaid axis in positions established by at least one further logic member,said third tumbler means permitting movement of said second tumblermeans relative to said third tumbler means only when the positions ofsaid leaf members of said second tumbler means have a predeterminedrelationship with respect to the positions of said leaf members of Saidthird tumbler means.
 5. The lock assembly defined in claim 4, and whichincludes first spring means resiliently biasing said leaf members ofsaid first tumbler means transversely of said axis to a transverselyaligned position, and second spring means resiliently biasing said leafmembers of said second tumbler means transversely of said axis to atransversely aligned position.
 6. The lock assembly defined in claim 5,and which includes third spring means resiliently biasing said leafmembers of said third tumbler means transversely of said axis to atransversely aligned position.
 7. The lock assembly defined in claim 4,and which includes first spring means resiliently biasing said first andsecond tumbler members along said axis away from one another, and secondspring means resiliently biasing said third and second tumbler meansalong said axis away from one another.
 8. The lock assembly defined inclaim 4, in which one of said first and second tumbler means is shapedto define a tongue section, and the other of said first and secondtumbler means is shaped to define a groove section for receiving saidtongue section only when the positions of the leaf members of said firsttumbler means match the positions of said leaf members of said secondtumbler means; and one of said second and third tumbler means defines atongue section, and the other of said second and third tumbler meansdefines a groove section for receiving said last-named tongue sectiononly when the positions of the leaf members of said second tumbler meanscomplements the positions of said leaf members of said third tumblermeans.